Congress brings out 'chargesheet' against ruling BJP in Goa accusing it of frequent U-turns

Panaji: Opposition Congress on Monday accused the ruling BJP government in Goa of frequent U-turns and criticised it on several counts in a strongly worded 'chargesheet', ahead of the upcoming State Legislative Assembly elections.

"Having learnt from our past mistakes, the entire Congress party is now galvanized right from the booth level to meet the expectations of the people so as to regain their faith," Congress Goa Chief Luizinho Faleiro said in the 'chargesheet' which was released here in presence of senior Congress party leaders.

"In your hands is a failure report of the BJP led government containing a list of 'U turns', broken promises, brazen scams and saga of bad governance," Faleiro said.

The 'chargesheet' has nailed BJP led state government over 25 different counts.

Representational image. PTI

"While you pursue through this report, I would also like to invite you to partake in the consultative process initiated by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee so as to arrive at a "Goem (Goa) centric manifesto (for Assembly elections)," Faleiro said.

The Congress which was in power till 2012 in Goa had lost to the BJP miserably during the Assembly elections reducing it to a single digit seat party, though it managed to remain as the principal Opposition in the House.

It has held BJP responsible for stopping of mining activity, paving way for large scale destruction of coconut trees through amendment to Trees Act, making Goa a 'sin-city' through drugs and prostitution besides others counts.

Faleiro stated that "BJP which had assured 'parivartan' (change), has through its faulty policies ensured that inflation hit the roof, unemployment figures are left soaring, casinos have multiplied manifold, drug menace has proliferated and corruption has been institutionalized in every domain of public administration."

It also accused BJP of promoting casinos and other corporate interests at the cost of Goans and Goa’s environment.

Faleiro said "BJP has further exposed itself as the government has wedded itself to crony capitalism."

"The state government has failed to regulate casino activity in the state as much as it has ensured that the number of casino vessels in river Mandovi has multiplied," the 'chargesheet' adds.

The BJP led state government has failed to ameliorate the problems of mining dependents as much as it has failed to resume sustainable mining and get any relief package for them from the Centre, the 'chargesheet' added.